Genovesa Island
Genovesa is a wonderful place to visit. In the morning, in just a very small area, we observed many bird species. Many elegant red-footed boobies were perching on trees; these boobies are the most colorful of the three booby species found in the Galápagos Archipelago. These attractive marine birds show an exquisite combination of different colors: light brown body plumage, blue beak with a little bit of pink at the base and the stunning red feet that have become their trademark.
In addition to the beauty of the boobies, much more was still to be seen. We observed many great frigate birds as well along the whole walk. Today, in particular with the great aid of a clear and beautiful blue sky, the bright red coloration of the male gular pouches was just stunning. Male frigate birds inflate their pouches only in the mating season. It is not less than hilarious to observe them doing their best to look better than the rest. They were working so hard trying to attract a female! Frigates open their beaks, inhale air, and inflate the gular pouch as much as they can; then wait to be picked up by a female. There are many males in the colony; therefore there is a lot of competition. All the males have to be ready to perform the courtship when a female is flying over them. Today we saw several females flying over the bachelor colonies, teasing every one of them while flying overhead. It is very amusing to observe this peculiar behavior. The male frigates spread their wings out, sky point, showing the red pouch and begin making noises, trying to get the attention of the female. It seems that they are crying: Pick me! I am the best!
This is one of the best times of the year to come to Genovesa Island. Frigate birds are decked out in their best suits, they look gorgeous. During the morning walk we also found two short-eared owls standing on the ground, very close to the frigate bird colonies. This is a very unusual sighting. There are not many of them on the island and we do not normally see them in this area. We were all really happy to see them. This paradisiacal island was its best today.
Genovesa is a wonderful place to visit. In the morning, in just a very small area, we observed many bird species. Many elegant red-footed boobies were perching on trees; these boobies are the most colorful of the three booby species found in the Galápagos Archipelago. These attractive marine birds show an exquisite combination of different colors: light brown body plumage, blue beak with a little bit of pink at the base and the stunning red feet that have become their trademark.
In addition to the beauty of the boobies, much more was still to be seen. We observed many great frigate birds as well along the whole walk. Today, in particular with the great aid of a clear and beautiful blue sky, the bright red coloration of the male gular pouches was just stunning. Male frigate birds inflate their pouches only in the mating season. It is not less than hilarious to observe them doing their best to look better than the rest. They were working so hard trying to attract a female! Frigates open their beaks, inhale air, and inflate the gular pouch as much as they can; then wait to be picked up by a female. There are many males in the colony; therefore there is a lot of competition. All the males have to be ready to perform the courtship when a female is flying over them. Today we saw several females flying over the bachelor colonies, teasing every one of them while flying overhead. It is very amusing to observe this peculiar behavior. The male frigates spread their wings out, sky point, showing the red pouch and begin making noises, trying to get the attention of the female. It seems that they are crying: Pick me! I am the best!
This is one of the best times of the year to come to Genovesa Island. Frigate birds are decked out in their best suits, they look gorgeous. During the morning walk we also found two short-eared owls standing on the ground, very close to the frigate bird colonies. This is a very unusual sighting. There are not many of them on the island and we do not normally see them in this area. We were all really happy to see them. This paradisiacal island was its best today.
